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Panasonic's innovative HD combo cam now faces stiff competition.
It's fitting I should follow a review of the Canon EOS 7D with a look at the Panasonic Lu mix DMC-G Hi. The GHi was announced at PMA in Las Vegas back in March when the 7D was not even a blip in camera reviewers' minds.
Canon, Nikon and other traditional photo companies largely stood on the sidelines of new releases last PMA, Instead ceding the show floor to product introductions from Panasonic, Samsung, and their consumer electronics' brethren. Indeed, the last PMA felt more like a photography version of CES than a traditional photo show and It's no small wonder that Canon has decided to completely skip PMA in 2010.
But I digress.
Though the GHi was announced by Panasonic in March, it took me until October to secure a review sample of this Micro Four Thirds Pseudo-DSLR that had created such a stir in Vegas. These GHi units seemed to be in short supply given that the red colored model I received on loan came In a tattered box that had looked like It had been plucked more times that "The Rose of Tralee." (Sorry, "Caddyshack" reference there.)
Before the Canon 7D with Its multiple 1080p HD frame rates (Including 24p) and Its rich feature-set designed to attract photographers and vldeographers alike, the 12.1 -mega pixel GHi was the "it" combo cam for shooting stills and recording video. Because it used the Micro Four Thirds sensor format, Panasonic was able to eliminate the mirror box in the GHi to make the camera compact and portable....